5 Must Reads: Redefining Banking

5 Must Reads: Redefining Banking

What separates middle-of-the-pack FIs from leading innovators? This week, have a look at how top performers and typical mid-sized FIs match up statistically on measurements like acting on customer suggestions and adding new features to existing products. Data tells the story.

Meanwhile, how were FIs represented at SXSW this year? How are a ride-hailing app and Square Cash now more like a bank? And what’s Citigroup up to on the national banking front? Happy reading!

This short but fascinating video shows how mid-sized financial institutions stack up statistically against top performers in the category. Under-investment in innovation and lagging technology put mid-sized organizations at risk as, for example, 87 percent of top performers invest in payments innovations, compared to only 30 percent of their mid-sized counterparts.

“This weekend at Antone’s Nightclub in Austin, Texas, Capital One executives donning jeans and zip-up hoodies were scattered across the ground floor demo-ing the bank’s innovations in augmented reality, while upstairs, some of their colleagues took SXSW audience questions in a full house. Outside the window, the line snaked around the block for the next event.” Maybe you didn’t consider attending SXSW. Maybe you should have.

South East Asian ride-hailing firm Grab has been quietly acquiring financial services capabilities, including micro-loans and insurance products. The company has also acquired Indonesian e-commerce company Kudo and is launching a P2P mobile wallet later this year. Will U.S. ride-hailing apps Uber and Lyft follow suit?

Citigroup operates branch offices in only six large cities in the U.S. but has credit cards that are used around the country. Now comes the suggestion that the company might go national with an all-digital bank. Word isn’t official, but an executive says he expects the move to happen within the next three years.

Square is creeping into the banking space, with or without a banking charter (which it has also been pursuing). New case in point: Square will support direct deposit transactions. Users can store the funds in their accounts to cover transactions.